Greetings from East Tennessee! - 1990 Grand Wagoneer - Theodore - Build Thread

[Theodore]

V-Belt Tension

After having struggled with belt squealing, i picked up a Gates KrikIt gauge a couple years ago to ensure i was in the recommended tension range rather than guessing. Yesterday, while reinstalling the alternator/A/C belts, i was unable to properly tension the belts - was already running Gates 7512's, which are 1-size under; ran to the parts house to pick up a set of 7508's, which were painfully difficult to install. Had to disconnect all mounting brackets, except the main upper bolt & still had to pry the belt to get it over the edge of the pulley. Am thinking the aftermarket pulley's diameter, added when i had the alternator rebuilt, is too large.

Would appreciate someone measuring the diameter of their OEM alternator pulley. I definitely don't want to swap belts on this pulley again.

Good news is: with the new belts, i was able to get proper tension on the belts & had about 1/2 of the adjustment sweep left.

Specific to Belt Tension: Using the Gates Belt Tension Calculator, it appears that 5/16" wide belts need 130 lbs new & somewhere around 100 lbs in use; and, when using multiple belts to drive, divide the target by the number of belts involved for the target for each belt.

[Theodore]

Woodgrain & Emblems-Before

Been out of town the last couple weeks & finally got a chance this afternoon to begin the prep for turning the GW over to the paint shop. Part of the deal is that I remove the woodgrain & trim, emblems, stainless trim, rubber, & glass.

Took a few pix prior to demo to document measurements to enable re-installation of the wood trim & emblems later on.

[Theodore]

Woodgrain Removal Begins

After having taken a few pix for future reference, I dove into removing the Woodgrain & emblems. Was hoping that a heat gun would speed up the Woodgrain removal process by allowing the grain to be pulled off in sheets, but it didn’t. Grain came off in small chips, so I fell back to a 3m eraser wheel in an electric drill.

Tried to remove the Wood trim with 12lb fishing line; a 4-strand cable made with fishing line; as well as, a stripped 14-gauge section of wire - all 3 broke quickly, and I resorted to heating the trim & pulling it off as it became flexible.

The eraser wheel works really well, once you get the angle & pressure right. Took about 3 hours to do the front fender & drivers door. Am thinking I want to try a right angle drill & see if it works better - will let you know.

[why_rick]

My brother owns a graphics business and he said that eraser wheel you are using is probably your best bet. He also said the wood grain graphics are some of the worst to get off. Good luck! Keep plugging away at it.

[Theodore]

My brother owns a graphics business and he said that eraser wheel you are using is probably your best bet. He also said the wood grain graphics are some of the worst to get off. Good luck! Keep plugging away at it.

Thanks, why_rick, I hit a couple of places where the sheet would pull off, but it still left residue that required the wheel; Looks like it’ll take 2 3m’s for this job & im still on the first one.

[Theodore]

Woodgrain Removal - 2nd day

Had a cold snap here that broke yesterday afternoon; we’re back in the 50’s for highs again. Took off this afternoon to make progress. Got 2 panels stripped before dinner - 5 more to go.

Have seen where others have used as many as 5 eraser wheels to complete the job. I’m still on the first one, with quite a bit of life left on it & it was slightly used when I started. Did go ahead & order another one (3m stripe off), as I don’t think it’ll make it all the way thru.

Is nice to see shiny paint & body lines that were hidden by dull Woodgrain.





Original dealer sticker “Watson’s Chrysler Jeep Eagle, Boone, NC”; this’ll be gone tomorrow. Pic for posterity.


Though I did trip across & grab this dealer plate on eBay a few months back.


Hopefully, I can get 2-3 panels done tomorrow & finish up on Sunday afternoon, and get a start on pulling chrome.

[Theodore]

Woodgrain Removal - Day 3

Got an early start today & made great progress - got all but 1 done today, plus pulled all of the stainless trim on the doors around the glass - post coming on this.

Tailgate


5 panels burnt up the eraser wheel; time to change to the new one.


Hate to admit this, but I didn't realize my drill had a trigger stop to go with the variable speed, had never used the stop, or come to think of it - had a need for a trigger stop; had been holding the trigger the whole time - which given how much the eraser wheel pulls, wears out the trigger hand - forced a lot of stopping to rest hands - ugh. Once i figured that out, progress went much faster - cleared 5 panels today.




One more to go. Will catch that one tomorrow.

[Theodore]

Removing Chrome Trim

Having never pulled trim, decided to see if any YouTube videos were available, to prevent bending/scratching anything in the process.

Found a few videos from "Comfort in Discomfort", who i believe is a member here (not sure his userid), who does a good job showing how to disassemble a few things as part of paint prep.

"Removing Exterior Stainless Door Trim"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgzuNBNHawo

"Taking off Chrome Trim"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LSEWPc98Ds

"Removing wipes and felt"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVwqJ21vO6M

"Grand Wagoneer Rear Quarter window removal"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFB_jXZLlQs

First up, the toolkit; added a 1/4" screwdriver to the mix for greater reach & leverage when popping off the trim pieces around the door glass.


On the doors, the top strip comes off first; first, bend the tabs on each end (shown here) outward.


Using a short wood block on the glass in the top right corner & a 3/16" screwdriver, pry in the corner to start; on all of these pieces, there's a small gap that will accept the screwdriver for removal; work your way down, prying a bit at a time, until ping - it's off...

Here's a pic of the small gap where your screwdriver will fit to start prying; use a wood block for leverage.


Front Drivers Door



The B-pillar has a slight amount of 3M strip caulk to hold it off, pry on each side, starting at the bottom, with a plastic trim remover



Quarter window
start at the bottom of the rearward trim piece & pry on the underside to pop one side; continue just below the corner for the 2nd one; once both are popped, pop the right hand side & wiggle the corner piece off the horizontal trim piece


Quarter window left side trim - pic shows 2 rivets that must be drilled out. I used 1/8" hex shank drill bit.


Shows the location of all of the Quarter Window clips - - just noticed looking back thru pictures, that it appears that one clip let loose (saw the dirt shadow) - ugh.


Drivers Side done


Passenger side B-pillar showing 3m strip caulk


Passenger side almost done


Damage done today; bundled & labelled

[Theodore]

Woodgrain Removal finally complete - Day 4 - 12/3/2023

Got out early this morning to finish up the woodgrain removal job; complete job took 2 3M eraser wheels. Have just enough left on the 2nd one to hit the Air Deflector (more on this later). On average, each panel took between 1.5 & 2 hours each. Glad to have this behind us.

[Theodore]

Mustache Trim - 12/3/2023

While i had the eraser wheel out, thought i'd trim its mustache. Found a replacement one on TeamGrandWagoneer, i think that'll be installed once paint is complete.

Before


After

[Theodore]

Air Deflector Installation - 12/3/2023

HAve had this Air Deflector for 2 weeks shy of 2 years; found it in the Junkyard on the same GW that the interior came from. Glad to have it out of the shop & on the GW.


Tripped across Dealer Installation instructions online a while back & grabbed a copy


Taped a copy on the back glass for reference


No going back now! Measured the center line by measuring the width of the roof rack (47") & splitting in 1/2 (23 1/2). Rearward screws on each side were 1 1/2" from the back edge. Given the price of being wrong is high - i went slow; after drilling the first hole, i remounted the deflector to line up & mark the 2nd hole. Used an awl & ball peen hammer to make a ping where the drill bit would sit & not wander to start the hole.


Finished!

[Theodore]

Naked GW - 12/3/2023

PUlled the GW out of the carport to clean up the mess & thought i'd take some After pix. GW looks naked.








Next step: get in contact w/our painter & see where we are on the schedule. Still need to pull glass & rubber, pull the gas tank bezel & swap fuel fill hoses, but will wait til i know more before doing that. Also, need to get to the junkyard & see whether the back glass is still there & unscratched.

[73WaggyCustom]

Amazing work! So cool to see how the late model GW looks without all of its adornments. You are to be commended! Thanks for sharing.

[Theodore]

Amazing work! So cool to see how the late model GW looks without all of its adornments. You are to be commended! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! Wondered whether anyone was following along with the thread. I like the body lines; i miss the wood grain though; it'll be back as soon as we can.

Funny thing, one big benefit off pulling off the wood trim, was it was attached so well that it pulled a big dent out of the passenger rear fender at the side marker, just before it broke loose.

[devildog80]

Always following.......the wood trim, is that held on with rivets as I have an '84 GW with same paint color but see no holes or weld spots where it looks like any holes were filled in then painted over. I am suspect that wood trim "might" have been on my truck, as there was some under the rear glass switch and inside doors, but 84 was first year to opt out and just get paint?

20220410_134453 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

[Theodore]

Always following.......the wood trim, is that held on with rivets as I have an '84 GW with same paint color but see no holes or weld spots where it looks like any holes were filled in then painted over. I am suspect that wood trim "might" have been on my truck, as there was some under the rear glass switch and inside doors, but 84 was first year to opt out and just get paint?

20220410_134453 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

Wood trim was held on with rivets; I’d heard somewhere that some GW years didn’t use rivets, but I not seen definitive proof; From what I’ve heard re: no- wood vs. wood, are the trim levels: Wagoneer & Grand Wagoneer. Could it be that you have a Wagoneer? From what I’ve seen, Grands have Grand cursive emblems on the front fenders & Jeep on the license plate chrome thing, while Wagoneers show “Wagoneer”. Can’t explain the wood in places tho. Will give it a google. Also, I’d think if it had wood, there’d be shadows in the paint.

[devildog80]

That was my thought as well, so my theory my truck came without the wood trim. And my VIN does show it is a GW, but the emblems are a bit wonky where they are placed. The 4x4 should be on the rear outside corners with Grand Wagoneer on front fenders. Mine has the Wagoneer as shown with 4x4 on front fenders, but Grand is on the rear outside corners. Thinking the truck was repainted at some time but emblems did not get put back where they should have been. Tailgate just says Wagoneer, so maybe this is not a Grand?
I researched but never found that this might have been a one off from the factory, so leaning towards one of the PO's errors, or preference. Thanks for feedback and good work you are doing. Keep after it

20220515_161145 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220410_134212 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220410_134527 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

[Theodore]

That was my thought as well, so my theory my truck came without the wood trim. And my VIN does show it is a GW, but the emblems are a bit wonky where they are placed. The 4x4 should be on the rear outside corners with Grand Wagoneer on front fenders. Mine has the Wagoneer as shown with 4x4 on front fenders, but Grand is on the rear outside corners. Thinking the truck was repainted at some time but emblems did not get put back where they should have been. Tailgate just says Wagoneer, so maybe this is not a Grand?
I researched but never found that this might have been a one off from the factory, so leaning towards one of the PO's errors, or preference. Thanks for feedback and good work you are doing. Keep after it

20220515_161145 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220410_134212 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

20220410_134527 by Scott Weckerly, on Flickr

Poking around, I found a thread that in post 2 mentions that 1984 GW’s used tape to attach wood trim; not sure when that changed; but I’d guess that rivets were added later to reinforce the tape at corners & body lines…
https://forums.ifsja.org/forum/tire-kic ... l?t=172632

So, it appears that, indeed, someone removed the wood at some point in the past. Wondering, do you see overspray anywhere? I don’t see shadows in the paint, that would be there if wood was removed later on.

[devildog80]

That would explain that mine probably came original with wood trim, and tape to hold the border. Easily cleaned down to the paint, with no residuals showing. Thanks

[ProTouring442]

Greetings from Harriman! Looking good!